ETHIOPIA: March 1, 1896

On a dusty plain in the northern Province of Wallo last week a round-eyed
dark-faced kinky-haired boy of 19 stood on a rug-draped platform of dried
mud. To the rattle of war drums Ethiopian chieftains with lion-mane
headdresses and gold embossed shields clustered protectively about the
royal youngster. Across the field rolled a white-rimmed dust cloud out
of which moved a horde of 100,000 yelling black warriors. Beyond the
reviewing stand the troopers halted, faced to the north, where 100
miles away lay the town of Adowa. Then to a man they let...